Cajón del Maipo

Location : 

To the south-east of Santiago is the Cajón del Maipo, one of the preferred destinations for those wishing to escape the city in exchange for the tranquility of the mountains. In Lo Valdés, 90 km from the capital, is the hostel of the Club Andino Alemán (the German Andean Club), many of whose members have been pioneers in climbing the central Andean peaks. An impressive view of the Andes can be obtained from there: San José Volcano (5900 m), to the east, and , Mount Morado (foto left, 4800 m) to the north, the jewel in the crown of the National Park of the same name. Continuing along the Morado Canyon is a glacier (foto below) and other important peaks like Mesón Alto (5300 m). There are hot springs in almost all the valleys, Baños Colina, 12 km from Lo Valdés, is particularly easy to reach.
 

Description :  (click on map)

  1. Cerro San Francisco (4800 m) 
  2. Cerro Morado (4900 m) 
  3. Cerro Mesón Alto (5300 m) 
  4. Cerro Loma Largo (5700 m) 
  5. Cerro Cortaderas (5500 m) 
  6. Volcán Marmolejo (6100 m) 
  7. Volcán San José (5800 m) 
  8. Cerro Arenas (4100 m) 
  9. Punta Zanzi 
  10. Cerro San Gabriel 
  11. Cerro San Lorenzo 
  12. Cerro Peladeras 
  13. Cerro Echaurren and Piuquencillo 
  14. Torrecillas del Manzano 
  15. Palestras del Manzano 

 Highlights : The area is the most visited by climbers and hikers, because of its closeness to Santiago and the many different activities possible to be done. Sport climbing at the beginning of the valley (14,15), alpine rock-climbing (8,9,10), alpine rock & ice climbs (1,2,3,4,5), high altidude mountaineering (4,6,7) and also kayaking and rafting. 

Cerro y Glaciar Morado, Cerro Morado

Over 150 km south-east of Santiago, and as such the most distant point from Santiago within the Metropolitan Region, is the Maipo Volcano (left), whose summit reaches an altitude of 5290 m. It erupted last in 1931. As it is so far from populated areas in both Chile and Argentina, it is largely ignored. Nevertheless, it forms part of a highly active volcanic zone which 450 000 years ago covered the whole area with ashes; layers 30 metres thick can still seen in Pudahuel, to the west of Santiago. This remote spot was recently made accessible by roads built to lay a gas pipeline, which runs from Argentina along the bed of the River Maipo to Santiago. 

 
A reservoir on the Yeso River (right), another important tributary of the Río Maipo, was built to ensure sufficient water supply for the capital. In winter there is good and easy reachable ice climbing on its south west end. Also it's an excellent starting point for ski touring trips.
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